Boris Lurie in America, He had the courage to say NO!: The Center for Contemporary Political Art, Washington DC

JANUARY 26 - APRIL 26, 2020

BORIS LURIE IN AMERICA: HE HAD THE COURAGE TO SAY NO!

The Center for Contemporary Political Art, Washington, DC

A contemporary of Rauschenberg, Warhol, Lichtenstein and Johns, Boris Lurie arrived in New York in 1946, having survived nearly four years in Hitler's death camps. He was just 21.

Over the next 60 years, his art became his life, his refuge, his therapy and his means of protesting the racism, anti-Semitism and social hypocrisy he encountered in the United States; its Cold War nuclear rivalry with the Soviet Union; and its interventionist policies abroad.

In 1959, he, Sam Goodman and Stanley Fisher founded the NO!Art movement, reflecting Lurie's views that artists should use their talent to protect and defend the interests of the people in the communities and countries where they live.

At this difficult time in our history, it is our hope that Boris Lurie's legacy, his art and his courage, will serve as an inspiration for artists everywhere to express their political views in their art, to increase awareness and understanding of the political issues we're confronted with today.